Wallet guard



June 18, 1957 s, NEUHAUSEN 2,796,106

WALLET GUARD Filed Jul 26, 1956 INVENTOR. Sebastian F/lubausen fittorneys United States Patent O WALLET GUARD Sebastian P. Neuhausen, near Ramona, Calif.

Application July 26, 1956, Serial No. 600,192

4 Claims. (Cl. 15047) This invention relates in general to wallets, pocketbooks or billfolds, and more particularly to an attachment therefor for preventing accidental removal, loss or theft of the same from a pocket.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a guard for preventing accidental removal of :a wallet from 'a pocket which readily may be removed intentionally by a wearer by the simple process of sliding a thumb downwardly between the pocket and the guard to render the latter inoperative.

Another important object is to prevent any resulting discomfort to the wearer, whether the wallet be carried in a trouser hip pocket or a jacket breast pocket, by shaping the guard to conform generally to the body of the wearer.

A further object is the provision in such a wallet guard of pocket-engaging means which are not injurious either to the pocket or the wearer and normally are resiliently maintained in'engagement with the'pocket to prevent removal of the wallet therefrom.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side e'levational view of a wallet with a guard embodying the features of the present invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the pocket of a garment showing the wallet and guard of Fig. l disposed therein, as seen from the left side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section taken through the guard substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section through the upper portion of the guard taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a corner portion of the mounting plate for the guard.

As seen in Figs 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 indicates in general a wallet, pocketbook, billfold, or the like, upon one side of which a guard, indicated generally by reference numeral 12, is mounted which embodies the features of the present invention. Such attachment of the guard to the Wallet preferably is accomplished with a mounting plate 13, forming a part of the guard 12, each corner of which comprises a pointed portion 14 adapted to be pressed through one wall of the wallet and reversely bent to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 to rivet the mounting plate 13 to the wallet. It will be understood that any other desired manner of attaching the mounting plate to the wallet may be employed. Intermediate its ends, the mounting plate 13 is provided on its upper edge with a recess defined at each end by a rearwardly extending tab 15 (Figs. 3 and 4) which are apertured to receive a horizontally disposed hinge or pivot pin 16.

The guard 12, in addition to the mounting plate 13, also comprises a guard member, pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the horizontal pin 16, which is made up of an upper part 17 and a lower part 18. At the junction of these two parts 17 and 18, this guard member is provided with a rearwardly extending tab 19 (Figs. 3 and 4) on each side thereof. These tabs 19 are spaced from each other a slightly lesser distance than the spacing between the tabs 15 on the mounting plate 13, and are apertured similarly to the tabs 15 for pivotal mounting on thepin 16. The tabs 19 are longer than the tabs 15 by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the mounting plate 13 so that the lower part 18 will be in surface contact with, and parallel to, the mounting plate 13, .as best seen in Fig. 3, when the guard member is mounted on the hinge pin 16 and the upper part 17 thereof is swung outwardly as far-as permitted by the lower part 18. A coil spring 21 is mounted upon the pivot pin or shaft 16 between the tabs 19 with one end thereof engaging against the inner surface of the mounting plate 13 and the other end engaging against the inner surface of the upper part 17 for the purpose of resiliently maintaining the lower part 18 in surface'engagernent with the mounting plate 13.

The upper part 17 of the guard member is somewhat concave (Figs. 3 and 4) with its vertical center portion angularly disposed outwardly relative to the lower part 18. This shape is given the guard member "17, '18 for two reasons; to conform generally to the body of a wearer when the wallet is placed either in a trouser hip pocket or a jacket breast pocket, and to provide clearance for insertion of the wearers thumb between its outer surface and the adjacent wall of the pocket for a purpose later to be more fully described. To further facilitate this latter operation, the central portion of the upper edge of the upper part 17 also preferably is somewhat cut-down or recessed, as best seen in Fig. 1. The upper corners of the upper part 17 comprise laterally spaced prongs 22 which preferably are slightly rounded to prevent injury to the wearer or to the material of the pocket when engaged therewith during use.

The guard 12 functions to prevent accidental removal of the wallet 11 when the same is disposed in a pocket in the following manner. In Fig. 2, a pocket is illustrated in vertical section which comprises an inside'wall 23 and an outer wall 24 sewn in the usual manner at 25 to the material of the garment 26. This pocket 23, 24 is illustrative of any trouser hip pocket or jacket breast pocket, the inner wall 23 of which would be against the body of the wearer. 'When the wallet 11 'is dropped or inserted into the pocket, it is intended that the lower part 18 of the guard 12 be that first inserted into the pocket. This will be insured by the upper part 17 effectively preventing insertion of the wallet into the pocket, if that upper part 17 :and the wallet are reversed and an attempt made to first insert the end of the wallet adjacent the part 17 into the pocket. This is due to the fact that the prongs 22 are held in their outermost position relative to the wallet by the spring 21, so that they would engage the material of the pocket to prevent insertion of the wallet therein in such vertically reversed position.

When properly disposed relative to the pocket and dropped or inserted therein with the pronged part 17 uppermost, the wallet will assume somewhat the position of Fig. 2. Actually, in that figure the wallet is shown slightly lifted from the bottom of the pocket in a position which would result if the upper portion of the wallet had been grasped and lifted. Such would result in the prongs 22 engaging the inner wall 23 of the pocket to prevent further upward movement of the wallet. Thus it will be seen that the guard 12 will effectively prevent accidental removal of a wallet or loss or theft of the same from a pocket.

When the wearer decides to remove the wallet from the pocket, it is necessary only that he slide a thumb downwardly between the corner prong portions 22 and between the inside wall 23 of the pocket and the adjacent outer surface of the upper part 17 of the guard 12. Pressure of the thumb toward the wallet against the upper part 17 of the guard then will result in the latter being moved outwardly of the pocket and toward the wallet from its full line to its broken line position of Fig. 2. The prongs 22 thus will be released from engagement with the material of the inside wall 23 of the pocket, and the wallet may be lifted from the pocket with the thumb and forefinger. The degree of concavity given the upper part 17 of the guard member is just sufiicient to facilitate the above-described downward movement of a thumb relative thereto, and the dimensioning of the upper part 17 of the guard preferably is such as to assure the average thumb maintaining the prongs 22 out of engagement with the material of the pocket during withdrawal of the wallet therefrom. It will be apprecitaed that the guard 12 will function in the same manner with the prongs 22 engaging the outer wall 24 of the pocket, if the wallet is inserted into the pocket in a position disposed 180 on a vertical axis from that of Fig. 2. In such position, however, it is awkward for the wearer to effect intentional removal of the wallet, and the preferred configuration of the guard member 17, 18, as herein illustrated, would result in undue straining of the material of the pocket and the garment during bending or twisting by the wearer. When properly employed in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2, the guard member 17, 18 generally conforms to the shape of the body of the wearer, whether the pocket 23, 24 is a trouser hip pocket or a jacket breast pocket. Also, so disposed within the pocket, the guard is located in such position that the thumb of the wearer naturally engages therewith when his hand is inserted into the pocket. This, of course, assumes that the natural method of removing an article from a pocket is employed. For example, if the wallet is disposed in the right-hand hip pocket, the normal way for the wearer to remove the same would be with his right hand, with the thumb adjacent the body and the fingers disposed outwardly therefrom. Likewise, if the wallet is carried in the right-hand, inner breast pocket of a jacket, the normal method of removing the same is with the left hand and with its thumb against the body and the fingers disposed outwardly therefrom In either of these positions, the upper part 17 of the guard member is automatically encountered by the thumb of the wearer, so that release of the guard member to its broken line position of Fig. 2 is readily accomplished.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A guard for preventing accidental removal of a wallet from .a trouser hip pocket or a jacket breast pocket, comprising a member pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a horizontal axis on a wallet, the upper part of said member above its axis being somewhat concave and angularly disposed inwardly of the pocket and away from the wallet to conform generally to the body of a wearer when the wallet is in the pocket and the lower part of said member is substantially vertical, spring means for resiliently maintaining said member with the lower part thereof substantially vertical, and means formed at the upper corners of said upper part for thereby engaging said pocket to prevent upward movement of the wallet relative to the pocket, the concave shape of said upper part of said member also providing clearance for downward movement of a thumb of the wearer between said corner pocket-engaging means and between said upper part and the pocket to swing the upper part of said member out of engagement with the pocket against the action of said spring means to enable intentional upward removal of the wallet from the pocket by the wearer.

2. A guard according to claim 1, wherein said axis comprises a shaft pivotally supporting said member, and a mounting plate pivotally supporting said shaft and secured to the wallet.

3. A guard according to claim 2, wherein said spring means comprises a coil spring mounted on said shaft with one end engaging against said mounting plate and the other end engaging against the upper part of said member to urge the lower part of said member into engagement with said mounting plate.

4. A guard according to claim 2, wherein each of said pocket-engaging means comprises laterally spaced prongs slightly rounded to prevent injury to the pocket or the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,107,958 Jorgensen Aug. 18, 1914 1,513,784 Roesner Nov. 4, 1924 2,483,795 Werber Oct. 3, 1949 

